Ukraine has been trying to breach the Russian border in an area east of Russian military advances in an attempt to divert forces from the attack, according to the Russian defense ministry Photo: Bloomberg
Russia has captured two villages west of Kursk, a senior commander said, as Russian troops attacked thousands of Ukrainian soldiers who stormed the Russian border last month.
Ukraine on August 6 launched the largest foreign attack on Russia since the Second World War, crossing the border into the western Kursk region supported by masses of drones and heavy weapons, including weapons made in the West.
Major General Apti Alaudinov, commander of Akhmat’s special forces in Chechnya and deputy head of Russia’s military and political ministry, said Russia captured Nikolayevo-Darino and Darino.
The villages about 15 km (9 miles) from the front were established by the Ukrainian army in August – and gave the Russian army a place from which to attack Sverdlikovo, which the Ukrainian army used as a transport hub.
“Our entire army has moved forward,” Alaudinov said, adding that Russian troops were also advancing in eastern Ukraine.
Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine in 2022, began fighting Ukrainian forces earlier this month from the western part of the country it captured.
Ukraine has been trying to breach the Russian border somewhere east of Russian military advances in an attempt to divert forces from the attack, according to the Russian defense ministry.
Russia, which controls about 18% of Ukraine, has also been advancing in eastern Ukraine – and captured the city of Ukrainsk.
on tuesday.
First published: Sep 19 2024 | 3:01 PM IST